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278 XXIV. the roll and recess. decoration.
entanglement of stony fibres, with the gloom of the recess
shown through them. These ghost rolls, forming sometimes
pedestals, sometimes canopies, sometimes covering the whole
recess with an arch of tracery, beneath which it runs like a
tunnel, are the peculiar decorations of the Flamboyant Gothic.
§ vn. Now observe, in all kinds of decoration, we must
keep carefully under separate heads, the consideration of the
changes wrought in the mere physical form, and in the intellectual purpose of ornament. The relations of the canopy to
the statue it shelters, are to be considered altogether distinctly
from those of the canopy to the building which it decorates.
In its earliest conditions the canopy is partly confused with
representations of miniature architecture: it is sometimes a
small temple or gateway, sometimes a honorary addition to
the pomp of a saint, a covering to his throne, or to his shrine;
and this canopy is often expressed in bas-relief (as in painting),
without much reference to the great requirements of the building. At other times it is a real protection to the statue, and is
enlarged into a complete pinnacle, carried on proper shafts, and
boldly roofed. But in the late northern system the canopies
are neither expressive nor protective. They are a kind of
stone lace-work, required for the ornamentation of the building, for which the statues are often little more than an excuse,
and of which the physical character is, as above described, that
of ghosts of departed shafts.
§ viii. There is, of course, much rich taberjiacle work
which will not come literally under this head, much which is
straggling or flat in its plan, connecting itself gradually with
the ordinary forms of independent shrines and tombs; but the
general idea of all tabernacle work is marked in the common
phrase of a " niche," that is to say a hollow intended for a
statue, and crowned by a canopy; and this niche decoration
only reaches its full development when the Flamboyant hollows are cut deepest, and when the manner and spirit of sculpture had so much lost their purity and intensity that it became
desirable to draw the eye away from the statue to its covering, so that at last the canopy became the more important of
| Title | The stones of Venice - 1 |
| Creator | Ruskin, John |
| Publisher | J. Wiley |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000317 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 278 XXIV. the roll and recess. decoration. entanglement of stony fibres, with the gloom of the recess shown through them. These ghost rolls, forming sometimes pedestals, sometimes canopies, sometimes covering the whole recess with an arch of tracery, beneath which it runs like a tunnel, are the peculiar decorations of the Flamboyant Gothic. § vn. Now observe, in all kinds of decoration, we must keep carefully under separate heads, the consideration of the changes wrought in the mere physical form, and in the intellectual purpose of ornament. The relations of the canopy to the statue it shelters, are to be considered altogether distinctly from those of the canopy to the building which it decorates. In its earliest conditions the canopy is partly confused with representations of miniature architecture: it is sometimes a small temple or gateway, sometimes a honorary addition to the pomp of a saint, a covering to his throne, or to his shrine; and this canopy is often expressed in bas-relief (as in painting), without much reference to the great requirements of the building. At other times it is a real protection to the statue, and is enlarged into a complete pinnacle, carried on proper shafts, and boldly roofed. But in the late northern system the canopies are neither expressive nor protective. They are a kind of stone lace-work, required for the ornamentation of the building, for which the statues are often little more than an excuse, and of which the physical character is, as above described, that of ghosts of departed shafts. § viii. There is, of course, much rich taberjiacle work which will not come literally under this head, much which is straggling or flat in its plan, connecting itself gradually with the ordinary forms of independent shrines and tombs; but the general idea of all tabernacle work is marked in the common phrase of a " niche," that is to say a hollow intended for a statue, and crowned by a canopy; and this niche decoration only reaches its full development when the Flamboyant hollows are cut deepest, and when the manner and spirit of sculpture had so much lost their purity and intensity that it became desirable to draw the eye away from the statue to its covering, so that at last the canopy became the more important of |
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